250 Milestone: Confidence, Connection, and Confronting Sexual Ableism

Episode 250: Celebrating 250 Episodes of Dating, Relationships, and Disability

Marking episode 250 with a look back at why this show exists and what it's covered since October 2021. Kathy founded the show to be a comprehensive resource helping people with disabilities navigate dating with confidence. Her approach blends her professional background as a mental health counselor with her own experience dating for years with a visible disability before finding a long-term partner of nearly 20 years.

Core Belief

Dating is a learnable skill set, not luck or magic — built on communication, problem-solving, and self-knowledge, for disabled and non-disabled daters alike.

Major Themes Covered

Mindset & self-worth — how beliefs about yourself shape who you attract
Five Stages of Dating Success — her signature framework: Foundation, Confidence, Strategy, Active Dating, Mastery
Sexual ableism — debunking the myth that disability makes someone a lesser romantic partner, including a conversation with Tiffany Yu
Online dating — app strategies, boundaries, AI tools, and a nod to Dateability's founders
Disability-specific dating experiences — neurodivergence, invisible disabilities, Apert syndrome, dyslexia, brain injury
LGBTQ+ and disability intersections — citing data that ~37% of LGBTQ+ adults and 52% of trans adults report a disability, with guests from Rainbow Support Group

Guest Experts

Over 250 episodes, Kathy has brought in a wide range of voices:

Tiffany Yu — author of The Anti-Ableist Manifesto and founder of Diversability (Ep. 215)
Dr. Victoria Mattingly — organizational psychologist and bipolar disorder advocate (Ep. 200)
Pasha Marlowe — marriage and family therapist specializing in neurodiversity (Ep. 228)
Kalindi Jordan — sex and intimacy coach (Ep. 219)
Emily Beecher — certified coach specializing in neurodivergent individuals (Ep. 239)
Gabor Kadas — founder of Friending Inc., a friendship app for adults (Ep. 237)
Jeremy Nelson — founder of Marrying America dating site (Ep. 233)
Violet Lange — relationship coach, The Goldilocks Method (Ep. 198)
Anil Gupta — international speaker, The Love Doctor (Ep. 221)
Dr. Robin Buckley — clinical psychologist applying business strategy to dating (Ep. 226)
Amy Reiley — gastronomy expert and author of Eat Something Sexy (Ep. 231)
Christian de la Huerta — personal transformation expert, 30+ years experience (Ep. 216)

Missing a Topic?

Listeners can email Kathy to request an episode on a disability or topic not yet covered.

Resources

Sign up for the weekly email list
Five Stages of Dating Success curriculum for professionals in the disability field
A survey for feedback on an upcoming playbook covering all 5 stages (skills, milestones, and items. And share it with anyone in your life who might have a story to tell! 💙

Check out coaching in dating and relationships with me to get the support and relationships you want.

Take our Dating Success quiz.

Music by Successful Motivation

Artwork photo by Elevate